Gun and projectile for throwing life-lines



(No ModeL) s. INGERSOLL GUN AND PROJECTILB POR THROWING'LIFE LINES.

No. 331,792. 7 Patented Dec. 8, 1885.

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ing life-lines,

UNITED STATES Prion.

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SIMON INGERSOLL,

HAWES, OF NOROTON, CONNECTICUT.

GUNAND PROJECTILE FOR THROWING Luna-Llanes.

SPlElCIECA'lIO1it forming part of Letters Patent No. 331,792, dated December 8, 1885. Application filed July 20, 18H5. Serial No. 172,035. (No model.)

To afZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SIMON INGERsoLL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Stamford, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Guns and Projectiles for Throwing Life-Lines; aud I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention has for its object to produce an entirely novel gun and projectile for throwharpoons, torpedoes, and other messengers. I have in fact produced an entirely novel system of throwing lines. The great diiiiculty with this class of guns and projectiles as heretofore constructed has been the impossibility of getting a long range with a moderate charge of powder, coupled with the impossibility of securing reasonable accuracy at any range. These two serious objections l wholly overcome by the novel construction which I will now describe, referring by letters to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specication, in which- Figure lis an elevation showing the breechpiece as attached to a standard, which is driven into the ground, the projectile being in place and the parts in position for ring; Fig. 2, a longitudinal section corresponding therewith, with the exception that the breech-piece is attached to a shoulder piece or stock.

The details of the construction of the gun may be varied greatly without departing from the spirit of my invention. I have illustrated simple and practical means for carrying it into effect, which I have found thoroughly satisfactory in every respect.

A indicates the tube or gun-barrel, which is provided with a central opening, B, from end to end, to receive the firing-pin C. The sizes of the central opening and the ring-pin relatively to each other are not material featuresof my invention, it being simply required that the firing-pin should move freely therein without unnecessary play. The outer end of the firing-pin is preferably reduced somewhat, as shown, leaving a shoulder, D, which strikes against a corresponding internal shoulder, E, to prevent the firing-pin from being thrown out or dropping out or in any manner interfering with the throwing of the projectile. At the rear end of the gun-barrel is a recess, F, which receives the coiled spring F. This spring bears against the base of the recess and against a head, G, at the lower end of the firing-pin, and acts to hold the latter at its retracted position, as clearly shown in both gures of the drawings.

H is the breech-piece, desired construction. secured to the breech-piece in any suitable manner, preferably screwed thereto, as shown' in Fig. 2, a screw-thread, H, being provided for that purpose. The breech-piece is also provided with another screw thread, H, adapted to receive a corresponding screwthread upon a stock, K, or standard L, so that by simply detaching the stock or standard, whichever it may be, part the same gun may be fired either from the ground or from the shoulder.

ll/I is the hammer, N the trigger, and O, Fig. l, theA mainspring. These parts may be of ordinary or of any preferred construction, not being of the essence of my invention.

I? is the projectile,which forms a very important part of my invention. This projectile is provided with a central opening, P', which corresponds in size and shape with the eXterior of the tube or barrel, so that the projectile is adapted to t closely, but freely, over the outside of the tube. The outer end of the projectile is closed, preferably by a cap, I, which is provided with a screw-thread adapted to engage the projectile in any suitable manner, for example, as shown in Fig. 2. The lower end of the projectile is provided with loop R and link S, or other suitable means for the attachment to the life-line T. I preferably use the loop and link substantially as shown in the drawings, for the reason that that construction acts to prevent the line from being thrown violently against the barrel, and possibly cut at the instant of firing.

U is the cartridge.

Onemarked peculiarity of my invention is that the gun itself is not loaded, but the cartridge is placed within the projectile.

The cartridges may be made either of metal or of paper with metallic heads, the primer which may be of any The tube or barrel isand attaching the other IOO being placed at -the center, as in ordinary' center-fire cartridges.

The amount of powder used and the weight of the projectile are subject to wide variations, depending, of course, upon the use to which the gun and projectile are to be placed.

I have made numerousexperiments, and have found, for example, that with a eartridge containing two and a half scruples of In both Iigures I have shown a guard, V, as

placed upon the gun-barrel. This is not absolutely essential, but I preferably use such a guard, as it serves as a protection against powder burning at the moment of explosion, and. may also serve as a support for the projectile when it is not desired that the cartridge shall be crowded to the extreme end of the projectile-that is, up against the cap.

The operations of loading and discharging are perfectly simple, and they may be instantly performed. A cartridge is placed in the opening in the projectile, and as the latter is placed over the gun-barrel the cartridge is carried forward in the'projectile. The cartridges are made to t loosely enough so that they may bereadily pushed forward, but vat the same time will stay in whatever position they are placed. When the hammer is retracted, spring E acts to throw the firing-pin to the position shown in both figures. Vhen the hammer is released by pulling the trigger, the mainspring causes the hammer to throw the firing-pin viol lently forward, which explodes the primer at the base of the cartridge.

As stated above, the iiring mechanism may be widely Varied without departing from the spirit ofniy invention, the gist of which consists in the projectile, which isl adapted to t over the 'tube or gun-barrel and to be thrown therefrom. The shape of this projectile, however, may be varied greatlyrwithout involving a change in principle-as for example, the projectile may be made to serve as a harpoon or a torpedo, and may be used either with or without a line.

Having thus described my invention, I claim-- 1. The combination of the following instrumentalities, to wit: a tube, a projectile adapted to slip on over the tube, a cartridge adapted to slip into the projectile, and a ring-pin within the tube, adapted to be driven against the cartridge to explode it.

l2. In a device for throwing life-lines, a tube and a projectile adapted to slip on over the tube andl provided with devices-for example,

a loop and link-for the attachment of a line, in combination with a cartridge adapted to' I slip into the projectile, and a firing-pin within the tube for exploding the cartridge.

' The tube and firing mechanismfor example, a firing pin and hammer-in combina` tion with a projectile closed at its end by a i screw'cap and adapted to slip on over' the tube, and a cartridge adaptedto slip into the projectile and be exploded by the iring-pin.

4. The projectile having a longitudinal opening closed at its outer end and a cartridge adapted to be passed into said opening, in combination with a tube'over which the projectile is adapted to pass, and which `is provided with a guard, V, against which the projectile rests, and firing mechanism-for example, a pin and hammer-as shown.

In testimony whereof Iaffix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

snvron INGnRsoLL.r

Witnesses:

A. M. WoosTnR, A. B. FAIRCHILD. 

